The usurer of the Punjab bania Mr. Calvert writes:[5]
[5. The Wealth and Welfare of the Punjab, H. Calvert, Lahore, 1922, p. i,10.]
He represents the richest single class. His profits probably exceed those of all the cultivators put together. Beside him, the professional class is inconsiderable; the industrial class is insignificant, even trade and commerce take second place.
But the usurer is by no means peculiar to the Punjab. The total rural debt of British India is estimated at approximately $1,900,000,000, in the main unproductive. This burden is largely due to the vicious usury and compound interest system, a trifling percentage is incurred for land improvement, and the rest may be mainly attributed to extravagant expenditures on marriages.[6]
[6. Review of the Trade of India, p. 47.]